I review everything I read, on my blog and
on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you
don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed
it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write
a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! I've barely
written a review in months due to a mixture of Blogger issues and being
Chuckles The Sloth recently!
Here are some reviews of books read from September-October.
1) Michael Bond-Love From Paddington (Paddington Bear #14)
Told through a
collection of Paddington's letters to his aunt Lucy back in Peru, this
new book offers Paddington's own special view on some of his most famous
tales. Filled with Paddington's signature charm and with
black-and-white illustrations throughout, this paper-over-board keepsake
is a celebration of this beloved character.
This was a much quicker Paddington read because of the letter format so I'm doing a shorter review of it. We hear from Aunt Lucy and why she decided to send Paddington off on his adventures, letting him experience more of life than just hanging out with old retired bears at the home. We get Paddington's view of being sent away and the full story of how he got to London by ship and met the Brown family. It was great to see the letters that Paddington sent to Aunt Lucy, telling of all his adventures! It was a fun addition to the series.
Read August 2020
4 stars.
2) Ken Irwin-The Real Coronation Street
The story behind the television serial and how it affected the lives of the actors involved with it over the first ten years.
I was intrigued to read this because it was written by a journalist who reviewed the first episode, saying the show was pretty much rubbish and wouldn't last. It was actually a good read. He looks at behind the scenes, starting with the cast purge of 1964 which led to a pile of the original cast being fired, the real life relationship behind a popular romance that led to scandal and divorce, problems getting a job after being in the series and a lesbian actress who was chasing popular cast members. It looked at the unpopularity of actress Sandra Gough (Irma Ogden) with her religious mania and rude comments about colleagues which led to her being shunned.
I was interested in how actor Philip Lowrie hated his character Dennis Tanner, the fake gossip about the cast, the fiery persona of the actress who played timid Minnie Caldwell, the alcohol issues that nearly destroyed Peter Adamson (Len Fairclough) and a lot more secrets from behind the headlines. This was a fascinating read that covered all the gossip and a great read for fans of the show.
Read September 2020
4 stars.
3) Michael Bond-The Paddington Treasury Paddington Bear had
traveled all the way from Peru when the Brown family first met him in
Paddington Station. Since then their lives have never been quite the
same.... For ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear
called Paddington is around. This sumptuous treasury celebrates Paddington's enduring popularity by bringing together six of his most popular stories:
Paddington-the story of how Paddington met the Browns for the first time.
Paddington
at the Palace-Paddington at Buckingham Palace.
Paddington at the Zoo-Disaster strikes each marmalade sandwich that Paddington has.
Paddington in the Garden-The story of Paddington's famous rock garden!
Paddington
and the Marmalade Maze-A visit to Hampton Court Palace.
Paddington the Artist-Paddington holds his own art exhibition.
I love these short Paddington adventures with the huge colour illustrations. They are gorgeous and you can see how cute and fluffy the bear is!
Read August 2020
4 stars.
4) Daran Little-The Life And Times at the Rovers Return
This looks at the entire history of the famous pub in the Coronation Street series, even going back to long before the TV series began. I like this level of detail as it is something different. It looks at the original people who founded the Brewery that became Newton & Ridley, how Annie and Jack Walker came to be running it in the sixties and who was there before them. It then covers who the licensees were, a look at the bar staff and managers, the cleaners and potmen and the big stories that the pub was central to ie weddings, births and deaths there. It even covers what all the locals drink, the major disasters at the pub and other landlords and ladies at other pubs.
It was an interesting book to read and I always enjoy the amount of work and detail that Daran little puts into his books.
Read October 2020
4 stars.
5) Daran Little-Weatherfield Life This book is about the history of Weatherfield and the residents of Coronation Street. It features changing maps of the entire area and the chapters cover time periods from before 1902, right through to when the book was published. In the 1914-1918 period it looks at the Weatherfield men who volunteered for service in the First World War and what happened to Albert Tatlock and his friends. 1918-1930 looks at marriages of Minnie Caldwell and Ena Sharples. 1930-1939 has when Jack Walker married Annie, the Great Depression in Weatherfield, Martha Longhurst's adventures, Ena's financial issues and Frank Barlow meets Ida. 1939-1945 looks at Weatherfield in the Second World War with Elsie's American lovers, Betty's illicit affair and pregnancy, Hilda meeting Stan and the war babies.
1945-1960 features Percy coming home, the death of Harry Hewitt's wife, Alf marrying his brother's girl, Ken gets an education, Blanche gets pregnant and Beattie marries and moves away. This brings us up to the start of the Coronation Street series and all the stories that feature on screen. I found the extra history of all the characters I know to be fascinating, getting extended details on things only mentioned in the series.
Read October 2020
3 stars.
